kamiel [at] creativechoice.org

Year: 2013

In Sacred Economics, the invaluable free e-book by Charles Eisenstein, the author calls for a new materialism, and I agree with him. It seems paradoxical that strong opponents of consumerism see something positive in stuff. We all know where our stuff comes from, we know about the morally indefensible sweatshops and the physically unsustainable processes ...

Oh the government spying is frightful, But the data is so delightful, And since he has no place to go, Let It Snowden, Let It Snowden, Let It Snowden It doesn't show signs of stopping, And I've bought some eaves for dropping, We've gotta be smart and lay low, Let It Snowden, Let It Snowden, ...

Let me come on with an attitude and say I'll debunk a myth today. Inspired once again by our baby daughter Miru, I started questioning the common belief that babies don't share. A quick look-up on the BrinPage machine (i.e. Google) confirmed that this is indeed what our experts think. Why? Because "So basically what ...

Senator Ab Pallin has given a short speech yesterday, denouncing the scientific status of the theory of gravity. "Like all else our scientists come up with except marketable products, we are dealing here with just a theory. Don't let them tell you anything, my dear fellow freedom loving, god fearing citizens. Here's all there is ...

[series-miru] Miru normally falls asleep when her mother lies next to her and hums soft and soothing melodies into her pillow while tapping her gently until her cries turn into sobs and then silence. I admire my wife's skills and patience. And I envy it: Isn't it something unique between mothers and their children, a ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article here about our fundamental quality as creatures of habit. In a short addendum, I'd like to mention my own experience with regards to changing habits. Just a month or so ago, I watched a short video about squatting, but not the kind you would typically do in ...

we will make heard the voices of the exploited whose land and livelihood is being destroyed but who don't have the dollars to fight the white collars we will make heard the voice of the suffering grasses don't mistake me for a gangsta rapper or some fake flashy fast car leper stuck in his McMansion ...

[series-miru] Miru is now clapping her hands. At almost nine months, she is a very happy baby, and the occasional bouts of crying are interspersed with laughter and endless joy - for her as well as for her parents. She's a perfect baby, and if you a) don't believe me and b) read Korean, my ...

Sometimes, the categories of an ad hoc philosophical anthropology can be revealing. Today, my anthropology says: We are beings of habit as well as beings of comfort. The inertia of our species and our politicians is grounded in these principles. There is always a certain optimal balance of comfort and habit, which our organisms are ...

there's boys and they love their Nietzsche their friend from the brittle yellow paperback they keep between the old mattress and the squeaking bed frame thus spoke, and boyish backs strengthen thus spoke, beyond good and evil beyond the province thus spoke, untimely many auroras have dawned behind the boyish ears countless Nietzsches countless bed ...

“A great man is always willing to be little.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson “A modest little person, with much to be modest about.” ― Winston Churchill I want to stretch out my tentacles to tackle the idea of modesty. Sound the clarions, hoist the flags, this self-proclaimed writer marches in to lecture about a virtue ...

[series-miru] The last episode of this series that I'm writing for my daughter appeared many months ago. This is not because there was nothing interesting in between, but because I couldn't find the time and motivation to write. We have been traveling, and had some bureaucratic issues to take care of regarding our simultaneous "legal" ...

Dear companion, would you like to write about boredom with me? Would you mind if we leave out scientific studies involving cortisol levels, inhibitors, synapses, our neocortices and neurotransmitters. Would you mind it not containing literary quotes by the likes of Schopenhauer, Ciorán, or Sartre? If it becomes a mere piece of reflection, an invitation ...

A little economics for dummies. When I see a televised commercial or a full-page advertisement for a product, I think to myself "They have a big budget for marketing." A marketing budget should of course be a percentage of expected profit (we assume total agent rationality on the part of the producer, not the consumer). ...

Lately, I was reading "Eaarth" by Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, and enjoyed it a lot. It accurately describes our predicament, as a society that has breached the safe limits of carbon in our atmosphere. It's key proposal, to take to local solutions, is something I completely underwrite. At some points of the book ...

As a way out I now think of creating pockets of moneyless economies, because EVERYTHING that we express in money seems to fall prey to the capitalists: The first step is putting a price tag on your land, the next is you selling out. I feel more and more that the dollar (the universal currency) ...

In our time of digital entertainment and overwhelming visual stimulation, where toddlers are growing up with screens, a live performance on stage attains the quality of magic. If only, I find myself thinking, the stories presented on stage are not about war, horror, provocation, abuse, violence, cynicism, shock, and lasciviousness. And that is why I ...

To block the thought of our finite existence and the fear of death, we've invented the idea of infinite growth and progress, and materialized it as the celebration of greed (amassing wealth as a purpose in itself). What if we take a step back and pretend we have infinite responsibility for the planet, for future ...

The confusing topic of conservative liberals and libertarian conservatives, of liberals using preservatives and conservatives opposed to preserving common sense. It was on my list so I want to add my pinch of salt. It is an emotional topic, a topic capable of generating severe weather conditions when dearly held persuasions are perceived as being ...

[series-miru] For a variety of reasons that I had instantly forgotten when looking at a smiling Miru, I had decided to travel. Looking for new clients, exploring new countries, visiting friends, making use of stopovers on a journey to Europe - all are equally valid and ridiculous reasons to miss the baby for a few ...

When you live in an urban area, you will have the experience of seeing people conducing chat conversations with their mobile phones in public places. This is an exciting new possibility of technology, that enables us to talk with anyone, anywhere, and seemingly without disturbing others, because these conversations are silent. There is one catch: ...